Thill-coupling.



No. 819,552. PATENTED MAY 1, 1906.

J. W. JONES.

THILL COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 10,1905.

. MO kfl'v WITNESSES: INVENTOR 1938M. M v; 24 45 y UNI ED STATES PATENToEEIcE.

JOHN W. JONES, or COUNCIL BLUFFS, lowA, ASSIeNoR TO JOEL w.- WEST, oroMAHA. NEBRASKA.

THlLL-COUPLING.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 1, 1906.

Application filed July 10. 1905. Serial No. 268.914.

To all whom itvnwy concern."

Be it known that I, JOHN W. JONES, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Council Bluffs, in the county of Pottawattamie and State ofIowa, have invented a new and Improved Thill-Coupling, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact specification.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown in Figure 1 a side view, witha portion broken away, of a thill-coupling embodying my invention. Fig.2 shows a top view of the thill-iron, while Fig. 3 shows a top view ofthe socket.

It is well known that it is often quite desirable to replace a tonguewith a pair of shafts or shafts with a tongue. In order to provide athill-coupling arranged so that the adjustment may be quickly made, Ihave constructed a quick adjusting and antirattlin ball-bearinthill-coupling.

T e further object of my invention is to remove the strain of the draftwhich usually comes upon the bolt from the bolt and distribute it withina socket, which is much stronger and more durable and much betteradapted to receive the strain and very much less likely to break than abolt.

In carrying out the object of my invention I provide a socket comprisingthe base or s'ecuring plate 6, which is perforated, as is shown at 9- inFig. 1, to receive the stems of the ordinary carriage and wagon clip 14,made to stride the axle 15, as is usual in carriage and wagonconstruction. Extending from this securingplate 6 is a housing or socket5, which is provided with a cylindrical opening 17, as clearly shown inFig. 1, which terminates below in a s herical seating 2, as clearlyillustrated, and axis housing or socket is provided with a slot 16,which, however, is enlarged in front, as is shown at 7, the slot 16preferably enterin the opening 9, as shown. Passing centrally t oughthis socket or housing through suitable perforations is a clam ing-bolt12, provided with a nut 13, this bo t i the circle bottom 2 within thehousing, as

shown in Fig. 1. By means of the nut 13 the socket may be pinched andbrought together.

In connection with my slotted housing I use a thill-iron 1, providedwith the narrow neck portion 8 of a wythe adapted to lit with in theenlarged forward slot 7, while this thilliron terminates in the ball orsphere 2, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This ball or sphere isslotted, as is shown at 3, and the slot is of a width exactlycorresponding to the thickness of the clamping-bolt l2, and the slot isalmost in alinement with the major portion of the thill-iron 1, as shownin Fig. 1, so that the thills have got to be carried upward a suitabledistance beyond their normal position before the-slot 3 may be broughtinto vertical position to permit the slot 3 sliding over the bolt 12, sothat the ball strides this clamping-bolt 12. In its normal position thethill-iron would be as disclosed in Fig. 1, in which position it wouldbe impossible to raise the ball out of its socket, for the reason thatthe slot in that position is not in vertical alinement, and the socketpreventing any lateral displacement of the ball the same is securelyheld within the socket. N ow the forward portion of the ball 2 will workagainst the forward half of the socket, so that the strain and draft isdistributed over the forward half of the housing. Now in adjusting thenut 13 the housing may be so adjusted that the ball 2 will be permitteda slight movement without allowing any rattlin of the spring,'however.

N ow should it be necessary or desirable to remove a shaft provided withsuch a ball-provided thill-iron the operator would simply carry the samein a vertical position and slightly tap the iron to remove the same outof the socket, when the ball provided with a Having thus described mysaid invention, ing-bolt and Work within said socket, sub- What I claimis new, and desire to secure by stantially in the manner set forth. ToUnited States Letters Patent, is- In testimony whereof I afiix mysignature A quick-adjusting thin-coupling, comprisin presence of twoWitnesses. ing a split socket, having a ball-bearing, of a JOHN W.JONES. clamping-bolt, passing through said socket Vitnesses:

and a thill-iron provided with a slotted ball, JOHN T. HENDERsoN,

said ball being adapted to stride said clamp- M. KENDLE. i r

